This gene encodes a member of a family of proteins containing one or more high mobility group DNA-binding motifs. The encoded protein plays an important role in maintaining stem cell populations, and may be aberrantly expressed in tumor cells. A mutation in this gene was associated with microphthalmia, syndromic 13. There are numerous pseudogenes of this gene on multiple chromosomes. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2014].